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          'Questions remain' for Bayern Munich after UCL exit despite Barcelona win

          • Stephan Uersfeld
          • Dermot Corrigan
          May 13, 2015, 05:29 AM ET

          Barcelona made it into the Champions League final with a comfortable 5-3 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich despite losing the second leg 3-2 at the Allianz Arena.

          The 3-0 first-leg defeat had raised questions over Pep Guardiola's future in Munich, particularly after last season's 5-0 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in the semifinals.

          Despite Medhi Benatia's early goal, a comeback had never looked realistic, but Bayern ended a four-game losing streak with victory over the tournament favourites, prompting mixed reactions in the German media.

          The Catalan and Spanish media, meanwhile, hailed Barca's achievement in making a fourth Champions League final in the last decade.

          Double goalscorer Neymar got many of the plaudits, while fellow attackers Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were also highly praised, and the German side were also given credit for a spirited showing.

          Kicker: "A mitigated exit. But questions remain"

          "The two semifinal results mirror the current potential of both FCBs quite accurately. FC Barcelona can play with the full orchestra while FC Bayern are missing essential soloists, especially the pacemakers Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and David Alaba. There needs to be a realistic discussion about the age structure of the squad, as well as about the many tactical and personnel experiments that the coach exposes his team to, sometimes without need."

          Bild: "Pep's emotional confession to FC Bayern -- We will try again next year"

          "They were eliminated with their heads held high. Three goals and a win are not enough following the 3-0 first leg defeat. Because Barca were too big for the miracle. An early lead and the stadium behind them. Is something still possible? Barca's goal machine forced Bayern to brutally adapt to reality. Pep Guardiola rounded his players up after the final whistle and made an emotional confession to FC Bayern. Are all the rumours of the summer farewell off the table now? Or will Guardiola, who failed in the Champions League semifinal for a third consecutive time, change his opinion. Did he set his sights so high ('Only the Treble is enough') to make an argument for an early Bayern exit?"

          Suddeutsche Zeitung: "Barca's dancers rob all hope"

          "Bayern bid farewell with a result that brings some satisfaction, with a decent scoreline, albeit one that was irrelevant in terms of their progress in the competition. But it also prompts a question: When you manage to score three goals against Barcelona, does it show there might have been a little more on the cards? Certainly, but not when the defence is that generous. Two Neymar counterattacks knocked the hosts out early, and even if Bayern were cheered by the fans for the result, that was the game-deciding phase, and that's why Guardiola needs to put up with the question of why he preached control [in the prematch news conference] but was prepared to takes risks from the very beginning."

          Spiegel: "No miracle!"

          "You can't just change the nature of football. It wants to attack, it wants to score goal, especially when you have to make up a 3-0 deficit from the first leg. When it even gives you an early lead. Pep Guardiola knows that the nature of football might bring your downfall against Barcelona, who are strong on the counterattack. Most of all he wanted control, but he got two counterattacks."

          Abendzeitung: "Time for amendments at FC Bayern!"

          "Barcelona's 2-1 half time lead was delivered by Messi, Neymar and Suarez with an ease that was more reminiscent of a relaxed Sunday League match than a Champions League semifinal. FC Bayern did not play badly at all, quite the contrary. There was a lot of heart, soul and will along all parts of the team. But the Barca supporters never needed to worry -- too great was the superiority of the Spaniards, who just have the more compact, more even squad, to say nothing of their exceptional attack, which plays in a league of its own."

          Die Welt: "FC Bayern need a squad overhaul now!"

          "The team that was built and defined by Pep Guardiola can no longer be considered a world-class team at this point. Not like two years ago. The meetings with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona were depressingly one-sided. Even the dream start, with a goal after six minutes, was nothing but a storm in a teacup. The visitors' wonder-attack just needed to accelerate for a short while to trample all nascent hope. In the second half, Messi took a stroll while Luiz Suarez stayed in the dressing room at half-time. Right now there appears to be no better team than FC Barcelona."

          Mundo Deportivo: "To Berlin"

          "The new history of Barca is being written thanks to Messi, but also due to a spectacular trident that is marking a new era. There have never been three such decisive players for progress in the Champions League."

          El Pais: "A German Barca reaches Berlin"

          "Guardiola had no more ammunition, stripped of Robben and Ribery, while Luis Enrique boasts Messi. The interventions of the No. 10 shook Bayern, just the same as at the Camp Nou. In the end, the same teams played as in the first leg, and in both cases the game was decided by Barca's attackers, who went into action in the decisive moments, and have now scored 114 goals."

          Sport: "To the final!"

          "You could say it louder, but not any clearer -- Barcelona are the best team of the last decade in the Champions League. The Blaugrana outfit have won the three finals they have played, and will play another in Berlin, as well as taking part in eight of the last 10 semifinals, well ahead of their closest followers. Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern have played five, and Manchester United four."

          AS: "Neymar opens the door to Berlin"

          "Guardiola loaded things time and again against the Barca goal in search of a beautiful death but [Marc-Andre] ter Stegen was a wall in the first half. While the Barca goalkeeper thwarted the rush of the Bavarians again and again, Messi started cooking, serving Suarez and Neymar to liquidate their opponents and ensure their ticket to Berlin. Any team would have thrown in the towel and started mourning. But Bayern did not. They continued to charge. With pride, the idea of their game and the respect for their fans, they finished to a thunderous ovation. Guardiola did not give up."